How did Tsarevich Alexei get hemophilia?
Tsarevich Alexei, son of Tsar Nicholas II, inherited hemophilia from his mother who was born Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was a daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. Princess Alice inherited the hemophilia gene from her mother Queen Victoria. Most experts think a mutation caused the appearance of the disease. Queen Victorias son Prince Leopold was a hemophiliac and two of her daughters, Princess Alice and Princess Beatrice were carriers. Princess Beatrice had two hemophiliac sons. Her daughter Princess Victoria Eugenie married King Alfonso XIII of Spain and brought hemophilia into the Spanish royal family. Princess Alices son Prince Frederick was a hemophiliac and her daughters Princess Irene and Princess Alix were carriers. Princess Irene married her first cousin Prince Henry of Prussia and brought hemophilia into the Prussian royal family. To learn more see Hemophilia: The Royal Disease at http://www.sciencecases.org/hemo/hemo.asp and Haemophilia in Queen Victori
